Get in the Game: Register to Vote Online for the Town Hall
Last year 700 people decided the future of Winnetka, nearly all of them in person. This year, for the first time, residents could vote from the kitchen table.
Archive note: this call to action ran on October 7, ahead of the Caucus Fall Town Hall on October 15, 2026. It is kept here as published.
Don't let the same few hundred decide it again. You can't play the game if you don't get in the game.
Mark your calendar
Winnetka Town Hall — Thursday, October 15, 7:30 to 10:00 p.m.
Skokie School, and online by Zoom.
What you need to know:
- Sign up to vote online — new this year
- Who is running in the contested Park District race
- A civics lesson: the Town Hall explainer video
Voter registration for online voting
It takes two minutes. The Caucus says the ballot will be sent to you during the live meeting, which starts at 7:30 p.m. at Skokie School, and that the vote will run on ElectionBuddy and on Zoom. Eligible registered voters of the village, or of the park, school or library district, may vote.
Our Town Winnetka would like to see 1,500 or more residents register to take part this year. Be heard.
The one contested race: Park District
Four Park Board seats are open and seven people are vying for them — three nominated from the floor and four from this year's slate. The good news is that this is the first piece of business at Town Hall, so the community will not have to wait all night to vote.
Under Caucus rules a field that size is decided by ranked-choice ballot, one seat at a time. Here are the candidates.
Three nominees from the floor
- David Seaman. A sitting commissioner whose appointed term ends in May 2027; he also served from 2020 to 2023. In Winnetka since 2002, with nearly 30 years in finance, and a former Caucus Council member.
- John Raith. A 27-year resident and a New Trier graduate who has raised his three children in Winnetka and is active in nearly every part of the Park District: the beaches, golf courses, paddle tennis, baseball, football, tennis, basketball and hockey. He and his wife Tory have been involved with the wellness studio Spynergy for many years.
- Jon Kunkle. A resident since 2008 who, with his wife, has raised three children here. He is vice-chair of the Golf Advisory Board, a subcommittee of the Park District board, and president-emeritus and still active on the board of the Winnetka Men's Golf Club.
The Caucus slate
- Kurt Anstaett. A 38-year resident with a career in finance, a youth sports coach and a longtime lay leader at Christ Church. He says he wants to keep the depth and quality of park programs and facilities and to work collaboratively with Winnetka's other governing bodies.
- Steve Juliusson. An 18-year resident, a former creative director and organic farmer who has served on the Caucus Council's Parks Committee. He ran for the Park Board in April 2025 outside the Caucus slate and was not elected. He says his goal is to help the Village and the Park District work together more effectively.
- Kim Marsh. A 47-year resident and attorney, formerly a trial lawyer and in-house counsel at an academic medical center, and a former Caucus Council member. She says she wants to bring analytical and problem-solving skills to the district's operations.
- Cynthia Rapp. A sitting commissioner, a resident since 2015 with three children in District 36 schools and a background in product management. On the board she has been a frequent critic of the district's lakefront plans, and in May she was one of two votes against seeking an intergovernmental agreement with the Village over Centennial.
None of those write-ups says where the seven stand on what the Park Board will actually decide:
- The future of Centennial and its dog beach
- How to work better with a Village whose boards have voted against the district's fence plan four times this year
- Whether to build a pool
- Whether land sales should go to referendum
- Who stewards Park District recreational land under the Village's contemplated Open Space District
Those are the questions to bring on October 15.
Other Town Hall business
Everything else on the ballot is uncontested, as far as we know at press time. For village president the Caucus recommends Bob Dearborn, and for Village Council Kirk Albinson, Scott Myers and Bridget Orsic. All four hold those offices now.
For the library board the slate is Nancy Detlefsen, Jennifer Fisher, Laura Freechack and Matt Kinnich. For the District 36 school board, Faith Atkins, Kathryn Martin, Jackie McLaughlin and Emily Krone Phillips. The Caucus has posted a biography and its committee's reasoning for each, and will present the platforms for all four boards to the community.
Related: The Caucus Is Not the Answer. You Are. and Two Flyers. Five Questions. Straight Answers.